Of Megaphones and Big Ass Trees
by ThePandaHero
Summary: With a job based around catching criminals and busting drug trades, Levi isn't too thrilled to be sent off to arrest a lone protester. Unbeknownst to him, that protester is Mikasa Ackerman, the single girl who just may just flip his world around. Protester/Police Officer AU
1. Chapter 1

In the 5 years of being a part of the police force, Levi had experienced his fair share of weird cases, but this was certainly proving to be one of the most irritating.

"Oh my god, it's been 4 hours, for the last fucking time, woman, get out of the damn tree."

Standing at the base of a towering oak tree, the man glared up at the figure tucked into the branches. It's a young woman with a short ebony bob cut, face concealed by a crimson scarf wrapped around her chin. Levi has been yelling to her through his megaphone since noon, when he got the call about some crazy protester staking out in a tree near the edge of town.

The job had seemed easy enough; tell this lunatic to go home and be over with it. But of course, Levi just had to get the one girl stubborn enough to ignore his demands.

"Oi, brat. Are you even listening?" His voice crackles through the megaphone, startling a flock of doves in the brush nearby. The woman's not as easily frightened, unfortunately, and the officer scowls when she shoots him a frigid look, pulling her scarf farther up her face.

"Goddamn shitty kid." He mutters under his breath. Part of him wants to call in for backup, but he bitterly acknowledges how much Auruo would tease him if he needed help with this case. Even damn Petra would get a laugh over the nameless treehugger defeating the dark-haired cop.

Levi's abruptly interrupted from thinking when something strikes him in the head, causing a string of curse words to fly from his mouth when he looks up.

There she is, that shitty woman, lounging almost casually across a tree limb, steel colored eyes glinting with mischief as she rolls an acorn between her fingers.

Before he can say a word, the seed has been flicked down, hitting Levi square in the forehead.

"Fuck!" He hisses, hand flying up to rub at the growing red spot. At his outburst, the woman's lips tilt up in a satisfied smirk, and the man makes up his mind at that second.

He will get this brat out of this tree if it's the last thing he does.


	2. Chapter 2

"You weren't hugged enough as a child, were you?"

Stay calm. Levi reminded himself, feeling his temper spike when he catches her smirking in the rear-view mirror.

"My childhood isn't any of your business, brat." He shoots back curtly, but her smile widens as she leans in to press her forehead to the bullet-proof divider separating them.

"I sense an unresolved tension. Let me guess, Daddy didn't show up to your boy scout ceremony?"

Levi scoffs, keeping his eyes trained on the road as he answers.

"Tch. Daddy's gone."

He feels the atmosphere change as the woman's smile wilts, and she leans back into the hard plastic seat.

"Oh…" She says softly, tugging her scarf up. "I'm sorry."

Rolling his eyes, the man drums his fingers restlessly on the steering wheel.

"Oh please, I don't need your pity." He mutters, and there's no more talking after that.

He watches through a small plexiglass window as Petra interviews the young woman, and he almost feels bad for the small red-head. The dark-haired tree-hugger has her fixed with an irritated expression as she responds to the officer's questions with short, impatient answers.

"Full name?"

"Mikasa Ackerman."

"Age?"

"16."

Petra blinks her large amber eyes, obviously surprised at the girl's age.

"16? My, you're a little young to be getting arrested, don't you think?" Her comment is met with an almost insulted look from Mikasa.

"Well that other cop looks about twelve, and he's in the police force." She shot back. Levi scowls from outside the room, hands balling into fists at his sides. The nerve of this hippie girl.

Obviously uncomfortable, Petra squirms in her seat before glancing back at her notes.

"Um, let's move on to the next question." She offers, and Mikasa's withering look has her recoiling as if she'd been stuck.

By the end of the interview, Levi isn't sure who's being interrogated and who's doing the questioning anymore. Petra has shrunk down in her seat like a scolded child, deflated and looking as if she's about to cry. On the other hand, Mikasa has straightened up, chin lifted in confidence while a half-smile quirks on her lips. He's not sure whether he's pissed at her for turning his comrade into a quivering mess or impressed with her determination.

Sometime later, Mikasa Ackerman is lounging on the bottom bunk in her cell, idly tracing patterns on the cool metal with her fingertips. Levi watches her carefully from the bench outside, hands clasped and pressed to his lips. He's curious of something, but too stubborn to ask.

"What's so special about that tree?" He finally breaks after a few minutes of silence. Mikasa glances up, looking at him through inky bangs.

"What's not special about it?" She finally answers, and Levi frowns, brows furrowing in confusion.

"What are you-" He's interrupted as she rolls off her bunk, landing on her feet and begins to pace.

"It's so old, but it's still so strong," She murmurs, a faraway look in her glassy eyes, "There's a crow's nest about twenty feet up."

"What's so impressive about shitty crows?" Levi sighs, growing impatient. Mikasa smiles wistfully, perhaps the first real smile he's seen from her.

"Crows mate for life." She says softly, and the look of simple adoration on her face makes the older man almost forget to breathe. When he finally gathers himself, he clears his throat and looks around the cell awkwardly.

"So you did it for a couple a birds?"

Mikasa's expression reverts back to one of weariness as she reaches up to touch the base of her throat, where her scarf should be. Unfortunately, it's packed in a ziplock somewhere in Petra's desk, along with the rest of her belongings.

"You're missing the point." She sighs, walking back to her bunk. Levi, frustrated but determined to figure this girl out, presses on.

"Then what's the point? Why would you stake out in a tree arranged to be chopped down?" He demands, but Mikasa waves his words off with a lazy shake of her hand.

"It's not worth explaining, you wouldn't understand even if I did." She turns over, facing the wall and tucking her hands into the sleeves of her sweater.

Levi knew the conversation was over, leaving him thoroughly annoyed. However, he stood and left the room, but not before looking back over his shoulder at the only occupied cell.

"You're here for the weekend, or at least until someone bails you out." He calls, and Mikasa says nothing.

He's genuinely surprised when someone shows up at the station the next morning with a check written out for Mikasa's freedom.

He's rather small and on the scrawny side, with a bowl-cut that makes Auruo snicker when he catches sight. Nevertheless, he's polite and seems nice enough, and within a half an hour Mikasa is led out by Petra, who seems relieved to see the teen go.

The dark-haired girl is thrilled to see the boy ("Armin!"), rushing across the lobby to throw her arms around the smaller boy's neck. Armin laughs nervously, but his relief is apparent by the way he hugs her back.

They leave soon after, and Levi can't help but wish he'd insisted on her explaining things to him. It was a pointless thought, though. He'd never see the girl again, and that was fine with him.

If only he knew how dead wrong he was.


	3. Chapter 3

From that day on, Levi finds himself seeing much more of Miss Ackerman then he'd prefer. The newspapers feature an article about the young woman and her protests against the recent construction project, calling her a "passionate antihero" and "a rebellious spirit."

Levi thinks she's plain irritating.

He's lost count of how many times Erwin has sent him out to drag the dark-haired teen out of the same goddamn tree. It doesn't help that she's got a mouth on her, either.

"You're such a dick, you know that?" She snapped once when he was handcuffing her. Levi had found himself smirking as he pushed her into the backseat of his cruiser, bending down to look her in the eye before he slammed the door.

"Took you long enough to figure that out, kid." He snorted, and the indignant expression on her face was enough to make the older man laugh, though he shut the door before she could see his smile.

Indeed, Mikasa Ackerman was certainly a pain in his ass, but he found that he didn't completely resent her company as time went on.

He's waiting her out at the base of the crooked oak one day when he asks about the crows nest again.

"Why the hell are you so determined to protect those damn birds?"

Mikasa offers him a rare smile, the type that causes Levi's heart to trip and stumble as he tries to focus.

"Don't you listen? I told you before, you wouldn't understand." Her tone is almost teasing as she hangs from a sap-covered branch, barefeet kicking the air leisurely. Levi rolls his eyes, watching from the ground below.

"Tch. How can you decide that on your own, brat?"

He finds himself bantering with the girl until sunset, when mosquitoes begin to emerge and harass the both of them. Mikasa begrudgingly leaves the safety of her tree's branches, muttering that she forgot her bug spray at home as Levi cuffs her.

"Yeah yeah yeah, tell it to the warden, brat." He scoffs, although they both know she won't be in jail for any longer than an hour or two; Armin would always faithfully be at the station with her bail money as soon as she got word of her arrest.

Mikasa slouches in the solid plastic seats, dark eyes glancing longingly out the window as Levi slides into the front seat.

She abnormally quiet, he notices. Usually she would have made a comment about his work ethics by now.

"Hey, Levi," She suddenly asks, still looking outside, "Have you ever been in love?"

The man nearly chokes, attempting to hide his shock by feigning a coughing fit. Clearing his throat, he starts the car and glances hesitantly into the rear-view mirror.

"What kind of shitty question is that?" He demands, pulling away from the curb.

Mikasa shrugs a shoulder, leaning her head against the cool glass. "I don't know. I was just curious, I guess."

Levi frowns and reaches back with a single hand to rap the plastic divider with his knuckles.

"That's a damn lie. What's wrong, did that shitty kid Armin break up with you?"

"I've told you before, Armin isn't my boyfriend! He's one of my best friends!"

"Fine fine, so it's another boy, right?" He means it as a joke, an attempt at lightening the mood, but his heart drops when he sees her sink lower, smokey eyes flickering to her hands.

"Oi, wait, it really is a boy?" He stumbles to makes things better, because something about the way Mikasa bites her lip like she's about to cry hurts him more then he'd admit.

"Yeah, it's a boy." She finally sighs, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "My brother, really."

Once again Levi finds himself coughing violently to cover up his surprise, and this time Mikasa picks up on it. Rolling her eyes, she slaps the transparent divider between them and scoffs.

"Calm down, he's my foster brother."

"Oh." The officer replies lamely.

A few minutes later Mikasa comments on his driving ("You almost hit that squirrel, asshole.") and Levi finds himself arguing with the teen like usual. The subject of her brother and love vanishes quickly, to both of their relief.

Levi's half-listening to Hanji ramble about a recent drug bust in a nearby town when the doors fly open, the bells Petra had insisted on hanging from the top jangling obnoxiously.

Both officers turn to look at the boy who's just burst in, brown hair mussed from the summer wind and turquoise eyes alight with something akin to rage.

Storming up to the desk, he slams his palms down on the wooden surface, clenching his teeth as if to bite back a snarl. Levi frowns as he reaches for the taser at his hip, and Hanji snorts in amusement as they swats his hand away, warily approaching the boy.

"Can I help you?" They offer, and the stranger fishes a crumpled check out of the pocket of his jeans to slap on the desk.

"I'm here for Mikasa." He growls, and Levi whips his head to stare at the angry boy, face impassive.

"What do you want with her?" The dark-haired man snaps, and he internally curses when he receives twin looks of confusion from Hanji and the boy.

"I'm here to bail her out…" The young man says slowly, narrowing his eyes at Levi. Hanji laughs nervously and waves their hands flippantly.

"Not a problem! I'll go and get her, I'm sure she'll be happy you've come to get her." They babble, fiddling with their glasses. "Are you her boyfriend?"

In an instant, the boy has transformed from a trembling embodiment of rage to a clumsy teenager. "Oh, oh god no, I'm not, she's my-" He fumbles with words, fingers flying in an attempt to explain what he cannot voice.

Something clicks into place, and Levi stands up from his office chair, crossing his arms.

"She's your sister?" He finishes drily, and the boy relaxes, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips.

"Yeah, yeah she's my sister."

Hanji nods like a bobble-head doll before skipping towards down the hall. "Siblings, that's wonderful! I'll get the little lady right now!"

The two men are left alone to size each other up quietly.

He's looks to be about Mikasa's age and height, although the goofy grin on his face is so unlike the small, secretive smiles the young woman dons occasionally it'd be hard to call them siblings.

Foster siblings. Levi reminds himself, just as the boy opens his mouth.

"Aren't there like, height restrictions to be a cop?" He blurts out, and Levi inhales sharply, clenching his fists.

"Listen here you little shit-"

Unfortunately he's interrupted as Hanji makes a reappearance, this time with a familiar dark-haired girl at their side.

"Eren?" Mikasa whispers, and the horror is apparent in her dark orbs.

The boy, Eren, immediately tenses up as he wheels around to throw an ugly look her way.

"Are you stupid?" He shouts, and Mikasa wilts like a dying flower, pulling her scarf up to cover the way she bites her lip anxiously.

"Where's Armin…?" Is all she says, staring down at the glossy linoleum tiles. Eren exhales in frustration, crossing the lobby to grab his sister's arm.

"He's sick, so he called me and asked if I would drive down to the police station to bail my sister out of prison." Venom laces every word, and Levi watches intently as Mikasa shatters more and more as he continues to rant.

"I'm sorry." She whispers, nervously reaching for Eren's hand. He pulls away, scowling.

"You told me you stopped these dumb stunts! You promised me you'd mind your own business!"

"But Eren, there's a bird nest-"

"I don't care!" The boy explodes, and Levi catches sight of the moisture gathering at the corner of Mikasa's eyes. Suddenly he is lightening, one second at his desk and the next between the two quarreling teens.

"I think she understands you're upset." He says coldly, and Eren blinks, taking a step back.

"What?" He looks genuinely confused, until he glances over at his trembling sister. "Oh no, Mika, no, I didn't mean to-"

Hanji pulls her comrade aside as the boy wraps Mikasa in a tight hug, holding her head to his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Mika, I'm a huge asshole." He mutters into her raven locks, and Levi scoffs when Hanji murmurs a small "Awww."

"You have your sister, now get out." The older officer demands, and Mikasa pulls away, cheeks flushed as she nods silently.

Eren throws an arm around her shoulders as they walk out, still muttering apologies even as they get into his car.

"I love happy endings." Hanji hums contently, "Now where was I before I was interrupted? Oh yes, of course, they found out the dealer was actually the mayor's mother-in-law, so that was crazy-"

Levi nods, attempting to pay attention, but his mind is elsewhere, specifically on a dark-haired girl and her bright-eyed brother.


	4. Chapter 4

"You're grounded."

It was Eren who had always been the troublemaker, the one picking fights, skipping chores, sneaking over to Armin's house at night, not her. Being confined to the house may have been the usual for her brother, but not for Mikasa. Maybe that's why the news comes as such a shock to her.

Dropping her string bag on the couch, the dark hair girl spins around to gawk at her brother.

"What?" She forces out, staring at Eren incredulously. The boy crosses his arms, tilting his chin up before repeating his statement.

"You're grounded." He narrows turquoise eyes at her when she opens her mouth to object, fixing her with the same withering look he'd no doubt received from their mother as a child. "No leaving the house, no climbing trees, nothing."

In the back of her mind, Mikasa suspects she looked like an idiot, jaw hanging open, eyes wide and affronted as she recoils from his words as if he'd spat venom.

"You can't ground me, Mom never put you in charge!" She finally snaps, hands flying to her hips, and for a moment, they're ten years old again, stubborn and frustrated.

"I'm the oldest, when Mom's away I'm automatically in charge." The boy insists, brows furrowing when Mikasa snorts.

"Mom doesn't trust you to water her plants, I doubt she'd leave you in charge." She shot back, enjoying the angry flush rising in his face. Although the brunette boy holds a special place in her heart, he isn't exempt from Mikasa's infamous taunts.

Eren holds her glare with equal intensity, setting his jaw as he shifts his weight to the side. The stare down lasts a few seconds before he lunges, tackling her around the waist and driving her into the cream-colored carpet below. Fighting has always been a common method of settling arguments between the siblings ever since they were young, and this time is no different. Mikasa is prepared for the attack, though, quickly tucking her knee up to dig into her brother's chest as she wrestles his hands away, shouting at him all the while.

"You're such a douchebag sometimes, you know that?" She grit her teeth, managing to wriggle loose and stumble to her feet, only to have her legs swept out from underneath her. Eren grunts in pain when his sister's elbow catches him in the stomach before he topples over with the raven-haired teen, all the while swatting at her attempts to overpower him. They land back on the carpet with a soft "oof," her clawing at his shoulders and him scrabbling to pin her wrists down. The boy restrains his thrashing sister for a quick second, leaning over her to yell.

"_I'm _a douche? At least I don't go around climbing trees and pissing off the town. What even is the point? Is it because of that scrawny cop? You got a crush on him or something- Augh, damn it!" He's barely finished the sentence when Mikasa abruptly headbutts him, taking advantage of his slackened grip to flip him over. Eren spits out a few curses when she plants herself on his calves, hooking her arm in a firm chokehold around his neck.

"Shut up! Just shut up! I don't have a damn crush on him, and even if I did I wouldn't tell you! So just shut up and stop being an asshole!" She's practically shouting now, hiding her face against Eren's shoulder. "It's important to me!"

The elder boy gradually stops fighting back, and Mikasa loosens her tight hold as the two teens ease out of the rage that had possessed them. After a bit, he gingerly pulls the young woman's hands away from his throat, and she hesitantly scoots off his legs, staring at her lap while the Eren groans and turns around, rubbing his neck.

"Jesus, Mika, you're like a freakin amazon." He finally mutters, and she can't help but smile a little.

"No, you're just a wimp." She teases, and the rueful grin tugging at his lips makes her heart skip a beat.

"Aw be quiet." The green-eyed boy laughs, playfully pushing her over. "At least I don't drool in my sleep."

"Well at least I didn't cry when I watched Jumanji." Mikasa fires back immediately, laughing when Eren fakes a pout.

"Are you ever going to let that go?" He sighs, looping an arm around the dark-haired girl's shoulders and pulling her close to hug. The sable-haired girl hides her smile by burying her face in the crook of his neck, feeling lazy and sated after the brief scuffle. They share a comfortable silence for a few minutes, appraising the damage inflicted on the living room with regret. The coffee table is crooked, the couch cushions are in disarray, not to mention the scuffed portion of the carpet.

Eren finally speaks after what seems like an eternity to his sister.

"If you say this whole tree thing is important to you, then I guess I can't stop you." He frowns slightly, tapping his fingers restlessly on his knees. "But you're still grounded for two weeks."

Mikasa leaves soon after, but not before sending her fist flying at Eren once more.

In Levi's five years in the police force, he's experienced countless tortures. There's been the time Auruo tazed him in trainee camp, or when some stupid brat attempting to rob the local 7-11 shot him twice with a paintball gun (Honestly, what kind of moron storms a place with a goddamn paintball gun?). He's suffered through Erd's painfully dull barbeques and Hanji's endless rants about execution methods. But never, ever has he faced something as cruel as this.

Boredom.

Deep down, Levi marvels that an emotion so incredibly tortuous exists. Slumped over his pristine desk, he ponders what mankind could have done to deserve such punishment.

His thoughts are interrupted when a tentative knock sounds from outside his door.

Erwin always knocks exactly three times, Auruo bangs on the door like a goddamn drum, Gunther knocks twice before announcing himself, Erd rattles the doorknob and Hanji just bursts in whenever they see fit. That left only one other.

"Come in, Petra." Levi drawls, reluctantly sitting up. The red-head quickly steps inside, face flushed as she smiles nervously.

"I have some reports from Auruo, sir. Are you busy?"

Levi shrugs a shoulder, holding out his hand expectantly. Petra hands him the papers, the majority of which are wrinkled or stained with coffee.

Goddamn it Auruo.

Edging towards the door once more, Petra rocks on her heels reluctantly, amber eyes flitting around the room. She's always been like this around him, flighty and downright clumsy at times. The man usually finds her behavior entertaining, but today he's not in the mood.

"Is there anything else?" Levi asks sourly. The petite officer jumps at his voice, scurrying backwards and shaking her head.

"No no, sir, nothing. I was just, er, nevermind, I'll just take my leave now."

Levi watches her rush out, tripping on her boots and leaving behind the faint scent of her apple-flavored perfume. Wrinkling his nose, he turns his attention to the first paper, attempting to decipher Auruo's lazy scrawl. It's no use, and within minutes he finds himself staring at the wall, all work abandoned. His job has never seemed particularly boring to the raven-haired man, irritating yes, but never boring. So why can't he focus now?

He scoffs, rapping the desk with his pen idly. Stupid, he knows why. It's all that damn girl's fault. She's somehow wormed her way into Levi's daily routine: dragging her ass back to the station seemed like an everyday occurrence, as usual as eating breakfast or checking the mail.

Unfortunately, Mikasa Ackerman has been strangely absent from prison. Levi suspects this is due to Eren, that bright-eyed, smart-mouthed brother of hers. The elder man find himself loathing the boy. How dare he make a mess of his delicate routine?

The image of Mikasa at the brink of tears flashes in his head, and Levi scowls, banging his pen more insistently. Stupid kid, making the bratty girl cry. He should have kicked Eren's ass when he had the chance.

"_Levi!" _A voice shatters his thinking, and the door flies open, crashing into the wall and sending a flurry of books and papers tumbling down from the shelves.

"Hanji," Levi seethes, pressing his knuckles to his temples. "What in the ever loving fuck are you doing in my office?"

The brunette chortles, stepping over the mess and sweeping up to his desk to thrust a plastic bottle into the slate-eyed man's face.

"The vending machine in the break room has this new stuff!" They gush, shaking the bottle eagerly. "Look look, herbal tea!"

Levi exhales tiredly as Hanji launches into a rant about antioxidants and natural vitamins. He only wishes some other aspects of his day were different.


End file.
